On The Brink Of Life
by XgreeneyedelfX
Summary: What if when charlie got shot at in his car and the shooter didn't miss. This is my first attempt at a numb3rs fanfic so please review and tell me what you think. Chapter two will be up soon.
1. Disaster and Guilt

On the Brink of Life

Charlie was sat in the corner of his classroom. He wanted to leave, he wanted to go home; but he didn't want to bump into the silver pickup that had followed him to the college. His heart was racing. He rocked back and forth, trying to calm himself.

"You're over reacting Charlie, just over reacting" he said to himself. He slowly got up, trying to get himself to walk through the door and back to his car. Instead he walked over to the cupboard and got out a pillow and a blanket that Larry kept in case he needed to sleep. Charlie set the blanket and pillow on the floor and tried his best to get to sleep. The image of the SUV kept throwing itself into his head. He knew he was going to have to tell Donnie about it, he just didn't want to.

The sun shone bright through the blinds causing Charlie to jump.

"Its just the sun, just the sun" Charlie let out a steady breath as he got up, out of his makeshift bed. Today he was going to have to face the music.

"Do you want me to ride with you?" said Amita, unsure whether Charlie was scared or not.

* * *

"No I'll be fine" with one kiss Charlie was out the door. He nervously walked to his car, he really didn't want to be driving but he had to talk to Donnie. He slowly got into his car; taking a deep breath he turned the key in the ignition.

"It's ok Charlie, your just being a little paranoid. Who am I kidding, I'm being totally paranoid." He slowly pulled out of the drive, away from the school, constantly checking for the Silver Pickup he feared.

Don stepped away from his colleagues, pulling out his phone; he began to type Charlie's mobile number on the keypad. He waited for the brief second it his brother to answer the phone.

"Hey Charlie, I need you to take a look at some numbers"

"Yeah I'm on my way down there now, I just finished my thread analysis"

"Yeah, anything?"

"No, nothing unusual. No one stands out"

"Really, of all the people she took down? Where are you?" Charlie Stared at a pick up that appeared behind him, his heart began to rase. Had they found him? Don paused "Charlie?" Don began to worry at Charlie's silence "can you hear me?"

The pick up pulled off the road, Charlie's breathed a sigh of relief "Yeah, I'll be there in like fifteen minutes. Ok?"

Charlie Hung up the Phone his eyes still glued to the mirror. He let his eyes focus on the roads again. But his nightmare was not over. The Silver Pickup was there, on the side of the road. Waiting. His heart raced so fast Charlie could barley breath. He drove past, hoping that it hadn't noticed him. But when the car lights came on and it began to follow him, he knew they had spotted him. He frantically picked up his phone in an attempt to call Donnie. The Pickup bashed the back of Charlie's car, sending his phone flying to the opposite foot well.

"No" gasped Charlie as he desperately tried to keep his car under control.

"Oh god" The pickup bashed him again making Charlie lose control of his car. He slid into something and hit his head against the wheel. His head pounded, his heart raced, he had no idea what to do. The Pickup parked in front of him, stopping Charlie from being able to drive off. A tall man jumped out the car; gun in hand. Charlie's head stopped him from being able to process everything. The last thing he heard was a gunshot, and then all was black.

* * *

"Don, just got a call from a man. He claims that he has killed you brother"

"Is he still on the phone?"

"No just hung up"

Donnie's heart slammed against his chest.

"Did he…" Another call interrupted Donnie.

"Just got a call from someone claiming they heard shots. There is also a blue hybrid car, seems to have crashed"

_Blue Hybrid, no it couldn't be,_

"Tell the man to remain in his house, tell him we are on our way to deal with it"

"Yes sir"

"Lets head out" said Don as he grabbed his coat.

* * *

At first Donnie could only see the flashing ambulance lights and the tape that surrounded the scene. He leaped out of the car, desperate to find out if his fear was true. The blue car was defiantly Charlie's.

"Where's the driver of the car?" said Donnie to one of the officers on the scene.

"He's over there, they are taking him to hospital. He has two gunshot wounds…" before the officer could finish, Donnie was running as fast as he could to the ambulance.

"Charlie" he screamed as he saw his brother on the stretcher. He ran to Charlie's side, his heart broke in that instant. "Charlie, no" he said, all his emotions poured into his voice.

"Sir I have to ask you to step back" said the Paramedic, trying to push Donnie back

"That's my brother" Donnie's voice began to crack "That's my brother," he repeated as he fell to his knees.

"You can come in the back of the ambulance sir"

Don nodded in reply and followed his brother into the ambulance. His head began to scream at him.

The whole ambulance journey went by in a blur, the next thing don knew was that he was following the doctors as they wheeled Charlie though the hospital.

"Is my brother gonna be ok?"

"Sir I must ask you to wait here"

"Is my brother going to be ok?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry" the doctor showed Donnie to a seat, and headed back to where they had taken Charlie.

Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours as Donnie waited, hoped that his brother would come back through that door alive.

"Mr Eppes?" Donnie shot up

"Yes, how is he"

"He's stable, for now"

"For now, what does that mean?"

"One of the bullets caused your brother's lung to collapse, the other bullet very nearly hit his heart. He lost a lot of blood and also has a concussion" the doctor paused "your brother's chances are very slim at he moment I'm afraid. But I swear we will do all we can to save him"

"Can I see him?"

"Not yet, you will probably be able to see him in a couple of hours"

Donnie sank into his chair; the doctor gave him a weak smile.

"I will come and get you when you can see him"

"Thank you" Don nodded, he placed his head in his hands. He was desperately trying to make sense of what happened. Who would want to kill Charlie?

Two hours passed and no doctor came, Don became more and more impatient. He just wanted to see his brother, to know his brother was going to be ok. What the doctor said also haunted Don's thoughts, making it harder for him to try and concentrate on a different subject.

Your brother's chances are very slim

"Mr Eppes" Don once again shot up, this time a young nurse was there.

"You can see your brother now" she smiled at him "Follow me"

She led him down a long hallway. There were many rooms and halls leading off to other sections of the hospital. Don looked up to find ICU in big letters above him.

'_Intensive care unit' _he never thought he would have to step in here again.

"Just in there" she pointed to a wooden door with a small window "I will be on the desk if you need me"

Don nodded then walked to the door, taking a deep breath he turned the handle and slowly opened the door. He was not completely prepared for what he saw next. Lots of different tubes hung around Charlie's still form, the constant beep of the heart monitor made Donnie feel cold.

The door opened behind Don, a young doctor walked in.

"Mr Eppes?"

"Yes" Don replied, not turning to face the doctor straight away.

"I am doctor Richards, I operated on your brother" Donnie turned to face the doctor, all emption drained from his face.

"How is he doing doc?"

"I am afraid your brother's injuries were very severe. If he had been rushed in here a little sooner then he would not be as in bad shape as he is now. He can't breath by himself so he is on a ventilator to breath for him."

"Is he going to pull through or not?" Donnie's became sombre

"I can't say, I'm sorry. Its just to early to tell" the doctor paused "I will leave you to have some time alone. A nurse will fetch you when visiting hours are over"

Don turned to face his brother. He looked at Charlie's pale face, the tube that protruded from Charlie's mouth. Don found it hard to look at his brother; his heart broke when he saw his brother being rushed off.

Heres the first Chapter, i corrected the separation thing. enjoy.


	2. Love and Heartbreak

Okies well here is Chapter Two, quite chuffed with this Chapter.

luvnumb3rs: Well this is the chapter were Amita and Alan come in. Hope you enjoy

angeleyes46: Thank you for the review, hope you enjoy this chapter too.

Vunaeska: Thanks for the review, hope you enjoy this chapter.

thnderincrimson: Thanks for the review, doesn't get any better for him. Hope you enjoy.

Love and Heartbreak

Amita stood at Charlie's side; she held his hand firmly in hers.

"Charlie" she choked as she desperately tried to hold back her tears.

Alan sat in a chair in the corner of the room, Don sat next to him; his arm around his fathers shoulders. Alan couldn't bear to look at Charlie, he couldn't bear to think about the doctor had told him, how Charlie's chances were slim. At that moment he gave up all hope of his son surviving, all hope of being able to listen to his son throw explanations of equations that he could never understand. Tears flowed freely from his tired eyes, Don to let his tears escape but he had not given up hope. He knew Charlie was a fighter, he knew that Charlie was not going to give up that easily.

"Visiting hours are over I'm afraid" said one of the nurses as she stepped into the room, glancing at Amita and then to the two weeping men. Don nodded in response and then helped his tired father to his feet.

"I love you Charlie," said Amita as she gently kissed his forehead. At that moment one signal tear escaped and then seconds later, many others followed. She finally let her emotions show as the nurse helped her to the door.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep, visiting hours are from one tomorrow" she paused "I will see you then" Once again a nod was all Don could muster as a reply. He wiped the tears from his eyes and then looked to his father "I'll give you a lift home Amita. Dad do you want me to take you home to or do you want to drive?" he knew he had to ask for often his father got annoyed when his son mollycoddled him.

"I'll drive, I need some time alone." Alan walked in the direction of the car park leaving Amita and Don standing in the hall.

Flashback:

Alan was stood in the kitchen, he was always cooking dinner and knowing Charlie couldn't cook to save his life. He wasn't to worried about Charlie being late, often when Charlie was working a case with Don, he would get home gone midnight.

Alan's cell phone buzzed on the table, he picked it up 'Don'.

"Hey Donnie" Alan's answered as he began to stir the pot of food.

"Dad, Charlie's been shot. It's not looking good, the doctors say his chances are slim" Alan didn't reply, instead his phone fell from his hand, shattering on the floor. He did not move for a full five minutes. Don's words kept swirling around in his head

***********

It didn't take long for Don to register everything. He leapt to his feet, put n his clothes and was out of the door in a flash. He had parked his SUV out front of his apartment so he didn't have to walk far. He rummaged for his cell in his coat pocket, finding it he flipped it open and began to browse through his phone book. _Charlie's House_, _call_. Don waited as the phone rang, it never usually took this long for his dad to answer the phone. He then tried his dads cell; it was off.

"Maybe he's at the hospital already" Don thought to himself as he began to pull away from the curve.

It was a twenty-minute drive to the hospital: each minute was torture.

"What if he's dead" Don paused, his heart slammed against his chest "NO, they would have called me"

Don walked through the hospital at a fast pace, paying no heed to the stares he got from nurses and patients. He had to see his brother; he had to know he was still alive.

To Don's surprise his father was not there, but Amita was. Tears were flowing from her eyes; Don could see that she was shaking.

"Don, they won't let me see him, because it's a different nurse' she said as she fell into his arms.

"Don't worry, I will get you again" Don replied softly

"How?" She looked at him, her eyes filled with heart breaking emotion

"I work for the FBI, remember."

Don walked up to the nurses station, flashed his badge at the nurse.

"She's with me"

The nurse didn't argue, she nodded and continued to type on the computer.

***********

The sun shone bright in the sky, the bright green grass shone in the morning sun.

"Sorry I haven't visited much, I…" Alan pause "No there's no excuse"

He knelt in front of his wife's grave, tears falling from his eyes, splashing against the well-kept grass.

"Charlie's dying" Alan's voice cracked "the doctors say he probably won't make it" he paused, wiping his tears "I'm sorry, I looked after him the best I could, but even that's not enough."

He kissed his fingers and gently placed them on the gravestone.

"I have to go see Charlie now. I love you" He wiped his tears once more and then headed back to his car.

***********

Amita slowly stepped into the room, her heart filled with dread. The constant beep of the heart monitor and the click of the respirator filled the room. She swiftly walked to his side; she gently kissed his forehead and stepped aside so Don could see him.

"I don't know how much more I can take of this. Not knowing whether I am going to ever see my brother alive again."

"I know" Amite pulled Don into an embrace as the man fell to tears; he could not longer fight the emotion that so long threatened to overtake him.

Amita did not stay long; she had to get back to the school. She could bear to sit and watch Charlie. It was too much for her to bear. Don sat and waited, where was his father? Don's eyes became heavy with loss of sleep. Soon he gave in to sleep too, the soft click of the Respirator lulling him to sleep.

A horrible beep awoke him from his slumber. Doctors and nurses rushed around him.

"We have a flat-line"

"No Pulse"

As soon as Don heard this he was wide awake, his heart racing.

"Sir you need to leave the room" said a nurse as she tried to lead Don away.

"NO"

"Please sir"

"NO" he shouted, she did not press further.

"We need paddles in here"

A nurse rushed in wheeling a machine in front of her.

Don's ears were ringing; he couldn't really make out what the doctor was saying. H just stared at his brother.

"CLEAR" shouted the doctor as he placed the paddles o Charlie's bare chest. Charlie's torso jumped, again and again. No response. Don couldn't bare it, the ringing of the machine in his ear, the shouts of the nurses and doctors. He watched in horror as he brother body jumped at each shock.

"Still no pulse" said a nurse

The Doctor backed away from the bed. He looked at Don, looking into Don's pleading eyes.

"Try again"

"He's not coming back Dr," said the nurse, her voice stern.

"Ok I'll call it, time of death 11:15 am"

"NO he can't be dead" said Don, his knees went week "you gotta keep trying. Please"

"I'm sorry"

We there it is, but is Charlie really dead? You'll just have to wait and see. Sorry it took so long. Hope it makes up for it. Please review.


End file.
